Fodor's may use your email address to send you relevant information on site updates, account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy.

Trip Report to Newport

On October 22, my husband and I went to Newport, RI for a few days. I had considered staying in one of the inns in Newport, but I wasn't able to get a good enough deal so we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Middletown. This hotel was very nice and very close and convenient for driving to Newport. Since there was no problem with parking in Newport in October, staying at this property worked out very well. We arrived in Newport on a cloudy, very windy and cold afternoon. We spent the first afternoon at the Tennis Hall of Fame since my husband is a big fan of the game. It was actually much more interesting than I thought it would be. And the building complex is lovely. We were able to watch some men playing court tennis which seemed like a combination of tennis and squash. We went back to the hotel and had some of the free (and very tasty) chili they were offering which warmed us up. That night we ate dinner at Tucker's Bistro on Broadway which is a very pretty restaurant which was filled even on a Wednesday evening. The service was a bit slow but we weren't in a rush. We had the Thai shrimp nachos, scallops and duck breast and all were very good. We stopped at the Newport Creamery for good ice cream which went well with the free cookies at the Hampton Inn.

After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to the Breakers and purchased the tickets for 5 properties. At this time of the year, there are only 5 properties open plus the Astor's and Duke's houses (which we didn't have time to do on this trip). We took the tour of the Breakers and then walked around outside behind the house. We drove to Rosecliff for the tour and then did the self-guided tour of Marble House which I found to be the most interesting and impressive. We drove down into Newport for a light lunch and ended up at Christies which had tasty and very large sandwiches. Since it was still very chilly and windy after lunch, we drove to The Elms and did the self-guided tour there. Then we drove along Ocean Drive, stopping at Fort Adams and the Castle Hill Inn. We then went back to the Hampton Inn for hot chocolate and cookies and watched the World Series.

The next day was warmer and not as windy. We parked on Narragansett and walked part of the Cliff Walk which was lovely. We then did the tour of Chateau sur Mer which was the least impressive and least interesting of the homes. I wish, instead of doing this one, we had done the Astor's Beechwood. When we purchased our tickets for the 5 homes, we got a coupon for a free appetizer at, among other places, the Castle Hill Inn restaurant so we went there for a delicious lunch overlooking the water. After lunch, we drove downtown and parked in the garage behind the visitors' center (we got our parking ticket validated at the center for 1/2 hour free parking) and then we walked up to the Tuoro Synagogue for the tour I had reserved before we left home. It was very interesting. We then walked around the waterfront neighborhood called The Point looking at all the colonial-era homes. We went back to the Synagogue for a walking tour I had also reserved before we left home which dealt with Jews in Colonial Newport. Then we drove back home to New York.